Safety, tolerability and viral kinetics during SARS-CoV-2 human challenge (preprint)

To establish a novel SARS-CoV-2 human challenge model, 36 volunteers aged 18-29 years without evidence of previous infection or vaccination were inoculated with 10 TCID50 of a wild-type virus (SARS-CoV-2/human/GBR/484861/2020) intranasally. Two participants were excluded from per protocol analysis due to seroconversion between screening and inoculation. Eighteen (~53%) became infected, with viral load (VL) rising steeply and peaking at ~5 days post-inoculation. Virus was first detected in the throat but rose to significantly higher levels in the nose, peaking at ~8.87 log10 copies/ml (median, 95% CI [8.41,9.53). Viable virus was recoverable from the nose up to ~10 days post-inoculation, on average. There were no serious adverse events. Mild-to-moderate symptoms were reported by 16 (89%) infected individuals, beginning 2-4 days post-inoculation. Anosmia/dysosmia developed more gradually in 12 (67%) participants. No quantitative correlation was noted between VL and symptoms, with high VLs even in asymptomatic infection, followed by the development of serum spike-specific and neutralising antibodies. However, lateral flow results were strongly associated with viable virus and modelling showed that twice-weekly rapid tests could diagnose infection before 70-80% of viable virus had been generated. Thus, in this first SARS-CoV-2 human challenge study, no serious safety signals were detected and the detailed characteristics of early infection and their public health implications were shown. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04865237.

The Interactive Effects of Scientific Knowledge and Gender on COVID-19 Social Distancing Compliance

Objective In this research note, we examine the role scientific knowledge and gender plays in citizen responses to governmental social distancing recommendations. Methods Using two waves of the American Trends Panel Survey and a measure of latent scientific knowledge, we test whether scientific knowledge is associated with comfort in participating in social activities during the COVID-19 pandemic within both the full U.S. population and the two major political parties. Results In both the general population and within the Democratic Party, we find that women are generally more likely to use their scientific knowledge to inform their level of comfort with social activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion These findings shed light on how knowledge and gender intersect to drive compliance with government recommendations and policies during a public health crisis in a deeply partisan America.